Thursday, February 26, 2009

Why Are REITs Better Than Watching the Stock Market Drop

How to Get Involved in the Real Estate Business

Many people want to learn how to make the big bucks when it comes to investments. Generally this means knowing how to get into commercial real estate and how to do it right. This is how people like Donald Trump made their fortunes. But are you ready to be the next Donald Trump?

For most people the answer is no. Not because they don’t want to be the next Donald Trump, but because they don't have the cash on hand to get started like Donald does. That's ok. You can start small. One way to start small on commercial real estate is through REITs. A REIT is a real estate investment fund. This is a fund that that works much like a mutual fund but in the area of real estate. You can purchase shares of this fund and then that money is used to purchase, build or maintain properties.

As those properties make a profit, you will get a good percentage return on your investment. By US law, 90% of the profit from a REIT has to be returned to the shareholders in dividends, so if a REIT investment goes well, there could be major earnings.

As you wonder if this is the right way to go for you, why not take on this quote from Will Rogers, "Buy land, they aren't making anymore of it."

That is a very true assessment! There is only so much land to go around and with a growing population, more and more people are going to want a piece of it.

While you may think this only impacts residential properties, if you think a little harder you will see how it could also have an impact on commercial real estate.

While all those people in the growing population will indeed need places to live, they will also need places to shop, have their hair done, buy cars, and for any number of other services that they expect these days. That means commercial ventures that are going to serve this growing population are going to need commercial real estate to work from. If you are a part of a real estate REIT that owns that property you can have a tenant that is paying you profits for years and years to come.

Beginning your venture in to commercial REITs is easy. Start by going to REITBuyer.com. This is a website that focuses specifically on REITs instead of all the other types of investments out there.

Now take a little time to research the REITs that are available. You can look into the portfolio of a REIT to see what type of property is in its holdings. Some are residential and industrial as well as commercial, so if you want just commercial, make sure to weed out the rest.

Next, you should take a little time to see what that REIT has done in the past. See if it has been steady (give or take a few tough market seasons) and if the area where they are located is a good market for future revenue.

If so, it only takes a few steps to purchase the REIT through the site and enjoy your first step into the world of commercial real estate.

No comments:

Post a Comment